Fire breaks out on cargo ship en route to Colombo off Goa

A major fire broke out on a container cargo merchant vessel about 102 nautical miles southwest of Goa, causing explosions on the front part of the ship on Friday evening. The vessel was on a passage from Mundra port in Gujarat to Colombo in Sri Lanka.

The Coast Guard said firefighting efforts are in progress to avert an ecological disaster and to ensure the safety of the vessel and crew. Coast Guard officials said a distress call from the MV Maersk Frankfurt regarding a major fire onboard was received about 50 nautical miles off Karwar.

A Coast Guard spokesperson said one of its ships was immediately diverted to proceed toward the distressed vessel as soon as the distress call was received.

“An ICG Dornier aircraft was launched for aerial assessment. The ship is reported to be carrying International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) cargo and explosions have been occurring on the front part of the merchant ship. The ICG (Indian Coast Guard) ship has arrived in the area and is carrying out a firefighting operation amid rough seas and inclement weather conditions. Additionally, two ICG ships have been dispatched from Goa to augment the firefighting efforts. The crew has been reassured of their safety,” the spokesperson said.

Additional aircraft are also being mobilised to assist safety and rescue efforts, officials said.